Sneha's Recipe: Palestine

This healthy soup is enjoyed throughout the Middle East, and it's a flavourful soup. Lentil soup is the most traditional and popular soup in the Levant. During winter time, many families in Palestine still start every dinner with a bowl of warm lentil soup. During Ramadan (regardless of the season it falls in) it is a favourite way to break the fast.

Serving 2 Persons
Ingredients
1 Liter Vegetable stock
1/3 Cup Red lentils
1 Onion - chopped
1 Carrot - cubed
1 Potato = cubed
2 Cloves Garlic - finely chopped
1 Teaspoon Butter
1 Teaspoon Olive Oil
A sprig of Fresh thyme
1/2 Teaspoon Cumin powder
2 Tablespoons Cooking cream
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Herbed Butterflaps / French Garlic bread for serving

Method

Wash the lentil and soak in water for 20 minutes.

Heat a pan with olive oil and butter, let the butter melt, then add the chopped onion, garlic, carrot, thyme and potato. Sauté until partially cooked.

Strain the lentils, then add to the sautéed vegetables, mix together. Add the vegetable stock, bring to the boil, and skim the foam that surfaces. Simmer for 30 minutes on low flame stirring in between until lentils are tender. Add the cumin powder, salt and white pepper.

Pour the soup into a bowl, drizzle with cooking cream and serve with Herbed Butterflaps / French Garlic bread . Enjoy this deliciously healthy and hearty soup for dinner.

Sending this to BM, theme Healthy Family Dinners.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 55

Labels : Soup, Palestine, Continental Cuisine, Healthy, Lentils, Blogging Marathon, Shorbat Adas, Lentil Soup

Musakhan (Arabic: مسخّن‎) is a Jordanian and Palestinian dish composed of roasted chicken baked with onions, sumac, spices and fried pine nuts served over taboon bread. It is also known as Muhammar (Arabic: محمر‎). Sakhan is the Arabic word for hot, so musakhan (mu-SA-khan) means something that has been heated.

Musakhan is a dish that is eaten with one's hands. It is usually presented with the chicken on top of the bread, and could be served with soup. It's a meal to be eaten as a special treat, it is especially cooked in villages in north Palestine.

In Mena's Cooking Club, this month we are going to discover a delicious cuisine of Palestine. This dish I, prepared for my family get together and they loved the chicken which was juicy and delicious. This is so easy to make if you marinate it the previous day and pop it in the oven an hour or two before your guest arrive. Let's go through the ingredients... and make this together.

Ingredients
For the Marination
10 Chicken Drumsticks
1 Tablespoon Cumin powder.
2 Bay leaves
4 Whole Brown Cardamoms
2 Tablespoons Sumac powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Black pepper powder
A pinch of Freshly grated Nutmeg
1⁄2 Teaspoon Cinnamon powder
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

Other Ingredients
2 Large Onions - finely sliced
1/2 Cup Olive oil
1 Cup Chicken stock

Method

Rinse the chicken pieces and pat dry.

Combine the spices for the marinade and mix with the lemon juice. Rub the marinade into the chicken well. Keep aside.

Fry the onions in oil till light brown in color. Note the onions should not burn but still be soft. Add these onions also to the chicken marinade, along with the olive oil and keep in the refrigerator for a day or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Set the chicken out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature.

Then add the chicken stock. Place the chicken on a baking tray, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the foil and turn the sides of the chicken and keep uncovered in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes, till the liquid is slightly evaporated and the chicken gets a nice dark brown color. Remove from the oven and serve hot.